Samples
“The program was much more than I expected! I was surprised by how detailed and thoughtful the daily emails were! I also didn’t expect to have such a supportive, community feeling in the program–the bulletin board was a great tool to keep everyone connected.” – Odyssey participant, Jan 08
Sample Daily Email
DAY 1 – GET CURIOUS
To start us off, I want to invite you to get curious about your experience today, and everyday. Often our tendency is to be judgmental, about our abilities, our commitment level, our space, etc. Instead, my hope is that each of us can cultivate seeing our practice from a really interested, *curious* place of inquiry.
One of my teachers’ favorite things to say in their trainings is, “Isn’t that interesting?” They say it all the time, with many different inflections. For example, you might notice your left leg is a lot tighter than your right. “Isn’t that interesting?” You might notice that you feel really crabby 3 weeks into the training, when your body is sore and you haven’t seen your friends and family in a long time. “Isn’t that interesting?”
What they are teaching us is to stay open to receiving information. When we judge ourselves – “I’m so inflexible”, “That injury will never heal”, “Why am I such a crybaby?” – we stop the learning and the inquiry. On the other hand, when we are curious to find out exactly what happens on our mats, a whole new way of learning about ourselves opens up. We might even learn something about how we act in the world off our mats as well.
So, with that in mind, practice today noticing everything and finding it all interesting. What are your feelings as you approach your practice? What are the actual sensations as you’re in the posture? What is it like to practice with the pictures, or the audio file, or from your own head? Notice as much as you can, without judgment, and with a genuine curiosity to learn more!
“The program was great. It was immediately clear to me that there’s a big difference between doing yoga 2-3 times a week and doing it most days. I’d just been gradually working on my own through the poses in a beginner’s book, and this brought my practice to a different level. I can see changes in my practice, week by week, and I’m excited about where I can go with this in the months and years to come. Thank you so much for offering this!” Odyssey participant, Oct. 09
Sample Weekly Audio Sequence
Full audio sequences are 20-30 minutes in duration. Download this excerpt of an MP3 audio sequence:
Sample Active Sequence (~4MB, 3:41 minutes play time)
Sample Weekly Sequence
Full sequences are 8-12 pictures.
1) Mountain Pose (Tadasana) – Stand firmly on each foot, even between the front and backs of the feet, and the outsides and insides of the feet. Create a rooted feeling through your lower body, and a light and lifted feeling through your upper body.
2) Chair Pose (Utkatasana) – Imagine sitting back into a chair, using your leg strength to support holding this posture. Reach your arms up, in line with your spine which is slightly tilted forward. Use this posture to warm your entire body. Keep the breath steady and slow.
3) Forward Bend (Uttanasana) – After using the legs strongly in Picture 2, actively stretch here. Start with the knees still slightly bent, straightening them over time. Hinge from your hips, instead of hunching from your waist. Use your hands on the floor to start to pull yourself in deeper as you feel ready.
